Method and apparatus for providing multiple programmed audio/still image presentations from a digital disc image player

Abstract

An apparatus and method are provided for use with a system including a digital data base for storing digitized images and digitized audio messages, for controlling concurrent reproduction of digitized images on an image reproduction device and audio information on a sound reproduction device. The digitized images are stored as image data files in the digital data base. Likewise, the digitized audio messages are stored as audio data files in the data base. Audio messages and images are associated with each other. This is accomplished by means of a presentation sequences file stored in the data base or in a separate EEPROM memory. In response to a user command, a controller causes image data and audio data for a selected image and an accompanying audio message to be read from the data base. The respective data are provided to the image reproduction device and the sound reproduction device, respectively, whereby the audio message is played back by the sound reproduction device as the image is displayed on the image reproduction device. A controller maintains the display of the image for the duration of the audio message. The controller reads a sequence of images and audio messages from the data base and displays each image and plays back one or more associated audio messages in turn.

What is claimed: 
     
       1. An apparatus for use with a system including a digital data base for storing respectively corresponding digitized still images in image data files and digitized audio messages in audio data files, for controlling concurrent reproduction of digitized images on an image reproduction device and audio information on a sound reproduction device, said apparatus comprising: means for providing user input commands;   means, responsive to a single user command from said means for providing user input commands, for selecting and reading a sequence of digitized still images from the image data files in an ordered sequence established in a presentation sequences file and coupling said selected sequence of digitized still images to an image signal output for display on the image reproduction device;   means for identifying a plurality of sequences of digitized audio messages associated with a plurality of sequences of digitized still images, some of said digitized audio messages being associated with different digitized still images in different sequences, said plurality of sequences of digitized audio messages including a selected sequence of digitized audio messages which are to be played back in an ordered sequence also established in the presentation sequences file and concurrently with the display of said selected sequence of digitized still images; and   means for reading said selected sequence of digitized audio messages from the audio data files and coupling the audio information to an audio signal output for playback on the sound reproduction device concurrent with the display of the associated sequence of digitized still images on said image reproduction device.   
     
     
       2. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said presentation sequences file is stored in the digital data base and includes a list of image data file IDs and audio data file IDs associated therewith; and said means for identifying includes: a controller including means for reading image and audio data files whose IDs appear in the presentation sequences file, and displaying the image and playing back the audio message respectively digitized herein.   
     
     
       3. An apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the presentation sequences file includes a plurality of pairs of IDs, each pair of IDs including a first ID of an image data file and a second ID of an audio data file associated with the image data file. 
     
     
       4. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said said presentation sequences file includes a plurality of groups of IDs defining a plurality of different presentation sequences and wherein each presentation sequence defines a selection including multiple images and associated audio messages for the multiple images. 
     
     
       5. An apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the data base includes: a first library of image data files, each image data file having an ID and including a header and digitized image data; and   a second library of audio data files, each audio data file having an ID and including a header and digitized audio data.   
     
     
       6. An apparatus as recited in claim 5, wherein each image data file header includes the ID of an associated audio data file. 
     
     
       7. An apparatus as recited in claim 5, wherein said presentation sequences file includes pairs of data file IDs, each pair including a first ID for an image file and a second ID for an associated audio data file. 
     
     
       8. An apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the presentation sequences file is stored in a digital data base. 
     
     
       9. An apparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein the presentation sequences file is stored in a separate EEPROM memory. 
     
     
       10. An apparatus as recited in claim 9, wherein the EEPROM memory is removable. 
     
     
       11. An apparatus as recited in claim 5, wherein said presentation sequences file contains multiple sequences of IDs for images which are to be displayed in sequences responsive to user commands. 
     
     
       12. An apparatus as recited in claim 11, wherein: the apparatus further comprises multiple manually operated controls respectively corresponding with the multiple sequences; and   the means for identifying further include means for reading the image and audio data files making up a selected sequence responsive to an actuation of the respective manually operated control by a user.   
     
     
       13. An apparatus as recited in claim 11, wherein the means for reading and coupling image data include means for displaying each image of the sequence for a length of time required for playing back the audio message associated with the image. 
     
     
       14. An apparatus as recited in claim 11, wherein the means for reading and coupling image data and audio data further include means for pausing for a predetermined time between successive images of the sequence. 
     
     
       15. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means responsive to a single user command includes a plurality of user input command buttons for selecting said sequence of digitized images. 
     
     
       16. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein a plurality of different audio messages can be associated with a given sequence of digitized images. 
     
     
       17. An apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the digital data base and the presentation sequences file are stored on a compact disc. 
     
     
       18. An apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the digital data base is stored on a compact disc and the presentation sequences file is stored in an EEPROM memory. 
     
     
       19. An apparatus, for use with a system including a digital data base for storing image data files containing digitized still images and audio data files containing digitized audio messages, for controlling concurrent reproduction of digitized still images on an image reproduction device and audio information on a sound reproduction device, the apparatus comprising: means for providing user input commands;   a digital data base reader for reading sequences of digitized images and audio messages in an order established by a presentation sequences file which associates the digitized images and audio messages in ordered sequences, wherein a given digitized image in two or more sequences is associated with different digitized audio messages;   a controller coupled to the digital data base reader for directing the reader to read a selected sequence of digitized still images and associated audio messages responsive to a single user command from said means for providing user input commands and further coupled to an output for providing the selected sequence of digitized images and audio messages respectively thereto, for display and playback.   
     
     
       20. An apparatus as recited in claim 19, wherein each image data file and each audio data file has an ID. 
     
     
       21. An apparatus as recited in claim 20, wherein the header of each image data file further contains the ID of an associated audio data file to be played back concurrently with the display of said image data file. 
     
     
       22. An apparatus as recited in claim 20, wherein said presentation sequences file lists a series of groups of data file IDs, each group including an image data file ID and one or more associated audio data file IDs. 
     
     
       23. An apparatus as recited in claim 22, wherein the presentation sequences file is stored in a digital data base. 
     
     
       24. An apparatus as recited in claim 23, wherein the presentation sequences file is stored in a separate EEPROM memory. 
     
     
       25. An apparatus as recited in claim 23, wherein the EEPROM memory is removable. 
     
     
       26. An apparatus as recited in claim 20, wherein the ID for each data file is related to its address in the data base. 
     
     
       27. An apparatus as recited in claim 20, wherein the ID for each image data file is related to one of a first sequence of integers, and the ID for each audio data file is related to one of a second sequence of integers. 
     
     
       28. An apparatus as recited in claim 20, wherein said presentation sequences file contains multiple sequences, each sequence including at least one data file ID, data file IDs of each sequence being in a predetermined order, so that, responsive to a single user command selecting a sequence, images and associated audio messages of said sequence are displayed and played back in an order corresponding with the order of data file IDs in the selected sequence. 
     
     
       29. An apparatus as recited in claim 28, wherein each sequence within presentation sequences file is associated with a pointer table entry. 
     
     
       30. An apparatus as recited in claim 29, wherein each sequence within the presentation sequences file includes an end-of-sequence delimiter. 
     
     
       31. An apparatus as recited in claim 19, wherein the digital data base includes a digital optical disc, and the digital data base reader includes a laser pickup. 
     
     
       32. A method for operation of a system including a digital data base for storing respectively corresponding digitized images in image data files and digitized audio messages in audio data files to control concurrent reproduction of digitized images on an image reproduction device and audio information on a sound reproduction device, the method comprising the steps of, in response to a single command provided to said system by a user: reading a digitized image from a selected one of the image data files in an ordered sequence established in a presentation sequences file and coupling the digitized image to an image signal output for display on the image reproduction device;   mapping the image data files to the audio data files in an ordered sequence in the presentation sequences file such that a given digitized image may be associated with more than one digitized audio message;   identifying one or more audio data files containing digitized audio messages associated with said digitized image in the presentation sequences file and which are to be played back concurrently with the display of the digitized image;   reading said digitized audio messages from the associated audio data file and coupling the audio information to an audio signal output for display on the sound reproduction device concurrent with the display of said digitized image on said image reproduction device; and   repeating the steps of reading and coupling the digitized image, identifying an associated audio file, and reading and coupling the audio information a plurality of times to display a sequence of digitized images and play back a sequence of respectively associated audio messages.   
     
     
       33. A method as recited in claim 32, wherein the step of reading and coupling the digitized image includes reading the image data file from a first region of memory space in the data base; and   the step of identifying an associated audio file includes identifying a second region of memory space in the digital data base.   
     
     
       34. A method as recited in claim 32, wherein the step of identifying an associated audio file includes reading a header associated with the image data file and extracting an audio file ID from the header. 
     
     
       35. A method as recited in claim 32, wherein the step of identifying an associated audio file includes reading a pair of file IDs from said presentation sequences file, the pair including a first ID of the image data file and a second ID of the associated audio data file. 
     
     
       36. A method as recited in claim 35, wherein the presentation sequences file is stored in a digital data base. 
     
     
       37. A method as recited in claim 36, wherein the presentation sequences file is stored in a separate EEPROM memory. 
     
     
       38. A method as recited in claim 37, wherein the EEPROM memory is removable. 
     
     
       39. A method as recited in claim 32 further comprising the step of pausing for a predetermined time between successive images of said sequence.